Full Speed

4 January 2018

“I began to realise how important it was to be an enthusiast in life. If you are interested in something, no matter what it is, go at it full speed. Embrace it with both arms, hug it, love it and above all become passionate about it. Luke warm is no good.” Roald Dahl

Passion is so incredibly important in business, and in anything you set out to achieve. There is nothing more frustrating to me than seeing someone who is lacklustre and forever bored. We all know the type, sighing every few minutes, hunched shoulders, low productivity and low energy. Their lack of passion is obvious and it is so clear that they’re in the wrong role for themselves.

Jim Collins’ three circles sum up why having passion in your role is so important.

I’m by no means saying that we have all of the answers here at UKFast but Gail and I are learning every day about how to create an environment that encourages people to really go for what they want.

As entrepreneurs and business leaders, it is our responsibility to not only create engaging places in which our teams can work but to also ensure that they are motivated and passionate about what they do.

One of the lessons I have learned at UKFast is not to pigeon-hole people too soon. If we spot a great person during recruitment, we get them into the business even if we’re not sure where they will fit. Get the right people with the right attitude on the bus and let them find their seat. Often we’ve found that the team member grabs the opportunity with both hands and brings incredible energy to the team, in a role they’ve created for themselves.

Passion is key

Having passion for your job or a task is essential both as a team member and the business’s leader. Jim Collins sums it up well in his Good to Great book when he describes the ‘three circles’ theory. Can you be great at it? Does it make economic sense? Are you passionate about it? If you come up short on any of these three, you can’t make it a business success. Would you even want to?

Can you imagine working 9-5 or longer every day just ticking tasks off the list? Never being excited about what you’ve achieved nor raring to get started on a new task? It’s not sustainable and certainly not productive.

I am regularly asked, often by young, budding entrepreneurs, what I see as the key ingredients of success. More often than not, when you look at the most successful people in the world, passion is at the top of the list.